It’s no secret that humans have gone to insane lengths to transform the world around us. We’ve leveled forests to build parking lots, flooded valleys to make lakes, dammed rivers to power homes, and even carved old men into mountainsides. Time and again, mankind has proven that it can shape and change the natural world with ease. But sometimes, the natural world fights back.

When Soviet geologists made an extraordinary find in the Siberian wilderness, they believed its excavation would be routine. What happened next would become a nightmare for the next 44 years…